AQIP Activities

Cowley College participated in their fourth Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) strategy forum on November 13 – 15, 2017, in Oakbrook, Illinois. Strategy Forums are an integral part of the AQIP process and are attended every 3 years as part of the process cycle. Attending the forum were Dennis Rittle, Michelle Schoon, Kristi Shaw, Stefani Jones, Christopher Hollon, Chris Absher, and Eddie Andreo.

The seven-member team was actively engaged in activities focused on the quality structure of the college. The goals of the forum were to help in the development of a new action project and to help strengthen quality improvement initiatives. The team identified Enrollment Management as a key area of the institution and developed strategies on the student intake process as a starting point for the action project.

May 2011- Steering Committee Members Attend Strategy Forum

Attending
the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) Strategy Forum
May 18-20 in Lisle, IL, members of Cowley College’s AQIP
Steering Committee teamed with other colleges to give and receive feedback
about the best ways to address challenges shared by its higher education
peers.

Facilitators from The Higher Learning Commission, a Commission of the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools that were trained
in quality principles, were on hand to guide individuals through various
workshops at the Strategy Forum, which was titled “Creating the
Climate for Continuous Learning”.

This was a distinct Strategy Forum intended specifically for institutions
already experienced with AQIP. The Strategy Forum required an institution
to have submitted a Systems Portfolio to AQIP, undergone a Systems
Appraisal, and received and analyzed its Systems Appraisal Feedback
Report. This is the third Strategy Forum the college has attended.

2010 Spring Inservice - AQIP Systems Portfolio Self-Evaluation

The Cowley College workforce met on January 12 to review and evaluate
the College's AQIP Systems Portfolio. The portfolio was recently updated
and revised in preparation for resubmission to the North Central Association
of the Higher Learning Commission in June 2010. Self-evaluation of the
document is a new requirement for AQIP institutions and proved to be
a valuable step for the College. Following the meeting, language in the
portfolio was refined and additional documentation added resulting in
a more thorough documentation of College processes.

College employees got back to work on August 13 with an exercise designed
to generate ideas for possible new action projects. Small groups worked
together to identify the College's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats (SWOT.) The results were summarized and three new action
projects were approved by the College administration and Board of Trustees.

Members of the Cowley family celebrated the College’s Reaffirmation
of Accreditation by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning
Commission during the Spring Inservice on January 15, 2009. Michelle
Schoon, Natural Science department chair and AQIP Steering Committee
chair, provided employees with an overview of comments and recommendations
made by the reaffirmation panel. In other inservice activities,
representatives of each Action Project team provided updates on their
activities and upcoming projects and events; and Slade Griffiths, Vice-President
of Academic Affairs and Strategic Planning Action Project Chair, presented
the results of the Fall 2008 Strategic Planning Survey.

2008 Fall Inservice

The Fall Inservice on August 13, 2008, provided an
opportunity for the Cowley community to be updated on the progress of
the Institution's quality initiatives and it's progress toward reaffirmation
of accreditation. Action Project team members were also recognized for
their efforts during the presentation.